1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates in general to automatic transmission kits for adapting automatic transmissions to various automotive applications; and more particularly, for adapting automatic transmissions having a shorter overall length than original automatic transmissions, for installation in four-wheel-drive vehicles.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
The recent automotive trends of "downsizing" and increased emphasis on minimizing vehicle weight have resulted in the design and utilization of generally lighter-duty components in automotive applications. A specific example of the utilization of such a lighter-duty component is the General Motors Type 700-R4 automatic transmission, hereafter 700 transmission. Beginning in model year 1982, General Motors began using this 700 transmission in both two- and four-wheel-drive one-half- and three-quarter-ton pickup trucks, Camaros, Corvettes, and Impala Station Wagons. Previous to introduction of the 700 transmission, General Motors used an automatic transmission in the aforementioned applications known as the Turbo-Hydramatic 350.
Soon after introduction of the 700 transmission line, durability problems were experienced in the field. Specifically, a substantial number of premature failures were noted with 700 series transmissions. Although these problems were experienced in all of the aforementioned 700 transmission applications, premature failure has been especially troublesome in four-wheel-drive applications of the 700 transmission.
As a result of these problems, demand exists currently among owners of late-model four-wheel-drive vehicles having a 700 transmission to install a substitute transmission. The aforementioned problems associated with the 700 transmission in four-wheel-drive applications were not experienced when the General Motors Turbo-Hydramatic 350 automatic transmission was used in these applications. The present invention provides a system whereby the Turbo-Hydramatic 350 can be substituted for the 700 transmission.
The four-wheel-drive vehicles currently having the 700 transmission in their drive line were redesigned in many other respects also. For example, overall drive line length has been changed, new transfer cases are employed, vehicle body configuration has been changed in that the current generation of four-wheel-drive vehicles is much smaller in size than its predecessors. For these reasons, installing the previously used Turbo-Hydramatic 350 transmission as a substitute for the original equipment 700 transmission is not a simple bolt-in operation. In addition, easy substitution of the transmissions is precluded by the fact that the Turbo-Hydramatic 350 is inches shorter than the 700 transmission.